Moscow's Italian Problem

...They are aware that the rejection of Soviet "real Socialism" and the independent evaluation of the Polish events are major steps toward eliminating the main obstacle to a Communist presence in the government Indeed, the Christian Democrats (DC) and the Socialists (PSI) are making abundantly clear that their praise is not meant to suggest any change soon in the ruling coalition Following an initial burst of enthusiasm, DC leaders are taking a more restrained view of the new developments They keep stressing the paramount importance of their alliance with the Socialists and asserting that, for the time being, a government role for the Communists is "out of the ques-tion " As for the Socialists, Secretary Bet-tino Craxi does not go much beyond describing PCI's dispute with Moscow as a positive event requiring careful scrutiny Craxi, who wants to replace Giovanni Spadohm as leader of the present five-party ruling coalition, is reacting with evident coolness to Communist pressure for the formation of a Leftist bloc aimed at replacing DC leadership in government affairs The Socialists would not find this alternative interesting until they had succeeded in making their party the center of a national third force and could meet the PCI on an equal level With early elections a distinct possibility and the PSI in an advantageous position, it does not welcome any boat-rocking right now In the meantime, theSooalist leadership is stressing two points First, they say, the Communists must clarify the so-called "third way' that rejects social democracy without explaining what would replace it Second, they see no reason why the PCI should be immediately rewarded for the sort of break with Soviet Socialism that thePSI made over 25 years ago Milan's influential daily, Cornere delta Sera, aptly summed up the attitude of the democratic parties The PCI's abandonment of Moscow, it noted, has the potential for unblocking the endemic crisis of Italian democracy—but that is not about to happen yet WHATEVER the future holds, the PCI shift has already resulted in some illustrious casualties The first was Eurocom-munism, devised a few years ago by Berlinguer His notion of an independent, ultranationalistic Western brand of Communism cannot survive the alignment of the French Communists with Moscow on the Polish question The weakness of the Spanish Communists, threatened by a Kremlin-engineered schism, further underscores the PCI's isolation The Italian Communists' only friends beyond the Alps are the Yugoslavs, who could hardly join a Western European project Another casualty has been the campaign for a "historic compromise" between Christian Democrats and Communists, leading to a government alliance Very much a possibility in the early '70s, its chances were dimmed by the PCI's severe electoral losses in 1979 Since then the DC has strengthened its ties with the PSI and minor centrist parties, while the Communists, vulnerable on their Left flank, have taken a more belligerent attitude toward the majority party The separation from Moscow finally laid the compromise to rest Now Berlinguer must reassure a large sector of his party that he is neither becoming more conservative nor seeking a deal with a bourgeois formation Despite the Socialists' diffidence, a Leftist coalition is the only course he can pursue at present and for the foreseeable future In fact, the party leadership's entire attention is currently devoted to the dissatisfaction of the Stalinist faction Although the top echelon seconds Ber-linguer's position on Moscow's handling of the Polish situation, with the rank and file it is a different story Bot-teghe Oscure plays down the dissent, but its concern is revealed by warnings against" anti-party activity" and denunciation of individuals and groups voicing opposition to the official line The leader of the pro-Moscow faction is Milan Senator Armando Cossut-ta, whose views coincide, albeit for different reasons, with those of the most conservative observers He, too, believes that Berlinguer's third way does not and cannot exist While conservatives are predicting a reconciliation with Moscow, though, Cossutta fears that the repudiation of the Soviet model will lead to the social democratization of the party, an evil to be avoided at all costs There is no major storm raging within the PCI, no threat of an overt division can be detected But stifling the internal dissent without taking drastic measures will require time And Berlinguer has already been accused—with a dose of exaggeration, to be sure—of taking the same hard line toward dissenters that he condemns in the Soviet Union SILVIO F. SENIGALLIA reports regular-ly for THE NEW LEADER from Rome...

...PROSPECTS FOR THE PCI Moscow's Italian Problem BY SILVIO F. SENIGALLIA ENRICO BERLINGUER ROME AFTER THE sharp disagreement between the Italian Communist Party(PCI) and the Soviet leadership over the crackdown in Poland exploded into an open conflict, PCI Secretary Ennco Berhnguei was asked how he was planning to cope with the pioblem It is not out problem, he and monstrous' policy was endangering peace by condemning the Soviet role in Poland Three weeks later it was speaking more in sorrow than in anger to its "Italian comrades" no abusive words, only the voicing of regret and an effort at persuasion Between the two pieces there had been semi-official overtures aimed at circumscribing the range of the ideological clash, but their tone was very critical Thus Pravda's February 14 article was a veritable and most unusual about-tace Declaring that the Soviets were not interested in sharpening the polemic' with the Italian Communists, it simply urged them to take a more severe and realistic look at the class struggle in the international arena " reportedly answered, it is Moscow's At first that sounded like a quip aimed at showing confidence and unflappa-bility As days and weeks go by, however, the remark acquires added significance Although except for one negative vote and two abstentions the entire Central Committee endorsed Berlinguer's January 14 condemnation of Polish martial law, he does not underestimate the dissent within his party, the current un-happiness of both the Stalinist old guard and the Marxist-Leninist intellectuals Still, he is apparently convinced that the rupture hurts the Kremlin more than Botteghe Oscure, the handsome palace on the central street of that name that houses PCI headquarters And the difference in the language used by the Soviet press in recent weeks when referring to PCI seems to prove Berlinguer s point that given the widespread disapproval of the repression of Solidarity in international Leftist circles, Moscow (.annot afford 10 long estrange the second largest Communist Party in Eu-rope On January, 24 Pravda chatged that the PCI leaders were "opportunistic tools of the imperialists whose "absurd If more olive branches are extended to the PCI, we may inter that, unlike Tito in 1948 and Mao in 1950 Berlin-guer has not been "excommunicated, just sharply rebuked and innited to mend his ways...

...Whether or not he will is a subject of considerable debate here at present Not suprisingly, Italian Rightists are anxious to minimize the gravity of the discord They recall that Tito and Mao were condemned by the Soviet leaders themselves, not by a "mere newspaper article," and predict that the PCI will stay in Moscow's fold They reason that since Berlinguer opposes the Western European social democratic model, and his "third way" between Soviet Socialism and capitalism is a nebulous, inchoate hodgepodge, an eventual rapprochement with the USSR is inevitable So far, though, the Italian Communist Secretary has not weakened his stand In a late February interview with Umlci, the PCI daily, he denounced Moscow's refusal to have an open and honest debate with the PCI, as well as its claim to the control, instruction and guidance of Communist parties throughout the world The Right notwithstanding, in Rome's other political circles there is little doubt that the break between the Italian and Soviet Communists is final After the PCI's censure of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and the 1979 aggression against Afghanistan, it is maintained, a complete falling out with Moscow was only a matter of time The repression of Poland's trade union movement is seen as having provided Berlinguer a golden opportunity to assert his party's full independence and sovereignty over an issue of the first magnitude This analysis is shared by the leaders of the democratic parties, who are giv-ing the PCI a good press...